Why Do You Think We Never Worked Out?
by Lozzy4992
Summary: "Why do you think we never worked out?" It was an unusual occurrence to see the two together, but they had parted amicably enough that it was as pleasant as it could be between two ex-lovers.


**AN:** Hey everyone! So I wrote this a while ago after finding the prompt on Tumblr and I used it to try and get through this blasted Writer's Block I'm feeling with 'Blinded'. It's been sitting in my 'Completed' folder for a bit now so I thought I would publish. Hope you enjoy!

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"Why do you think we never worked out?"

It was an unusual occurrence to see the two together, but they had parted amicably enough that it was as pleasant as it could be between two ex-lovers. They were sat in big, comfy chairs in the Stranger's Room of the Diogenes Club, both nursing a glass of scotch as they flicked through their respective case files, checking for any additional evidence to prove they had the guilty party.

The auburn haired man sighed, lowering his glass and meeting the dark eyes feet away from him. "We saw little of each other, too little for the relationship to work in a manner we deserved given how serious our relationship had become. Why are you asking?"

Greg shrugged. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I mean, I know we broke up on good terms, but with hindsight, it just doesn't feel right," he took a slow sip of the amber liquid, his eyes dropping before meeting the bright blue gaze ahead of him, "We both knew what we were getting into in the beginning, we both knew- know- we're workaholics who are senior enough that we're needed a lot. But then it ended, and now I look back on it, I don't really understand why."

Mycroft sighed, finishing the last of his scotch before getting up and making his way over to where the bottle stood. He stood there silently, long seconds ticking past before he finally spoke. "There is a reason why it perhaps no longer makes sense to you, but I must warn you: you will not like it."

The DI straightened up. "What's the reason? You've got to tell me now."

He sighed again, his head dropping as he poured himself another glass which he quickly drank from. "A week prior to the termination of our relationship, I had received a tip-off that someone was going to attempt to get to me… through you." He stayed with his back to Greg, but could still feel the other man's eyes on him. "The plan was to kidnap you with hopes of a higher likelihood for me to give in to their ransom, which I later discovered was classified information which- in the wrong hands- would ruin the UK." He was quiet again, taking another sip of his scotch. "The only logical solution I could think of was to end our relationship, and knowing how you would have been if you knew the truth and to also keep things peaceful between us, I used my powers of suggestion to make you believe that you too thought it was a good idea for us to break up… But it appears as though time with my brother has made you less susceptible to those things."

Greg was quiet, his grip on the glass tightening before he put it down harder than necessary. "You… manipulated me… into being OK with us breaking up..."

Mycroft dropped his head again. "It was for your own protection, Gregory…"

"And you didn't think to talk to me about this?" he asked sharply, "I could have gone to a safe house or something until you found whoever it was."

"But what about the next time it happened? I could not expect you to repeatedly go into hiding."

"You say that as if it would have been a regular thing."

"It could well have been; if one organisation knew about our relationship, then who else could have found out and used it against me?"

"God knows, and frankly I wouldn't care; you seem to forget that I put myself in danger every time I do a raid, every time I put away another criminal, Hell, every time I _leave my house_. I've pissed off enough criminals that I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them wanted me dead, so why was that any different?"

"Because if anything happened to you because of me I would never be able to forgive myself!" Mycroft's posture tensed, his hands gripping the side of the cabinet as he focussed his gaze on the glass sat before him. "Of course there are probably people out there who would like to exact revenge on you, and any I have come to find out about have been dealt with accordingly, but if someone went after you as a bargaining chip against me, and something happened…" he physically deflated, closing his eyes, "I do not know what I would do."

Greg watched his ex-lover and deflated as well, his previous anger dissipating from him. He watched the other man from the chair as he made sense of what he had just heard, licking his lips as he formed his reply. "Mycroft, I…" he paused, looking down a moment before looking back up at the other man, "I wish you'd just talked to me about this… We could have done something about it, arranged a protocol… It shouldn't have ended the way it did." The two were quiet and Greg swallowed. "I still love you, you know… I accepted it was for the best, when we broke up, when I believed it was for the best… but I never stopped loving you."

Mycroft tensed, his back still to Greg as he remained quiet. He spoke after a long minute, "I apologise for not discussing it with you; I wanted to avoid you worrying about the issue. I just wanted to keep you safe."

"It's OK," Greg's soft smile seeped into his tone. "Do you still love me?"

There was a long, pregnant pause before Mycroft breathed, "Yes. I have always loved you."

The DI set his long-forgotten file on the table and rose, slowly making his way over to the auburn-haired man still refusing to face him, "Then what's stopping us from being together? If it ever comes to it I can look after myself, and the combined forces of you and your resources, your brother and New Scotland Yard, you'd have me out in no time," he stopped behind Mycroft, resting a gentle hand on his back.

"But the risk, Gregory…"

"Screw the risk, I want to be with you and no potential risk of someone coming after me is going to change that," he said softly. His hand slipped down the government official's back, resting his forehead against his neck as his hands wrapped around the other man's waist, "Do you have any idea how hard it has been trying to get over you?"

"I believe I can strongly empathise…" Mycroft sighed, his eyes still closed.

"So what do you say? Can we try again?" Greg ran his hands over the other man's stomach, his nose still pressed into the sharp yet fine, high thread count cotton of his collar.

"Yes," he breathed and rested his hands over the rougher ones on his torso, gently prying them off so he could turn, releasing Greg's hands so he could wind his arms around the other man's neck and pull him closer. Suddenly their eyes were closed and they were kissing, Greg's arms tightening around Mycroft's waist as he tried to eliminate any possible space between them whilst the tip of his tongue lapped gently at the inside of Mycroft's lips and within moments the redhead's tongue touched his, gently stroking against each other and allowing them to taste the other causing them both to inhale sharply because this, _this_ was what they had been missing for so long, longer than they had ever needed to. Mycroft's hand moved to run through silver strands, shorter than he usually liked it but in that moment he couldn't bring himself to care because he was _kissing Gregory and it had been so long_. Their tongues swirled around each other as Greg smiled against the other man's lips because he had _missed this so much_ before they broke the kiss, their lips still close as they panted gently.

Greg pressed forward for another shorter kiss before meeting the light blue eyes in front of him. "Come back to mine? We don't have to do anything; I just want to lie with you."

"Of course," Mycroft replied and they broke apart, the pair immediately gathering their belongings; the files and glasses of scotch long-forgotten before Greg entwined their fingers and pulled them from the room, the door clicking shut behind them.


End file.
